Machine for making bungs



(No Model.) 2 fleets-Sheet 1.

E. E. ELDER.

MACHINE FOR MAKING BUNGS.

N6. 373,345. Patented Nov. 15, 1337.

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EDWARD E. ELDER, OELYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FoR MAKING BUNGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 373,345, dated November 15, 1887.

Application filed March 24, 1887. Serial No. 232,284. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD E. ELDER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Making Bungs; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,-'and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same.

This invention has reference to that class of wood-cutting machinery, commonly denominated bung-making machines, or machines for cutting out bungs,plugs,or stoppers for use with casks, barrels, and the like; and it con- 'sists in the construction, arrangement, and

. wood to shape the bung.

combination of parts, substantially, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved bung-making machine. Fig. 2 is a side sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation onthe line 1 1 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail side view of one of the spouts through which the stock is fed to the machine; Fig.. 5 is a horizontal section of a part of the machine, taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3, and showingthesaw in the position that it occupies when acting upon a block of Fig. 6 is a similar section, showing the saw out of its operative position and the several adjacent parts in the position assumed at the time when the finished bung is being dropped from the machine. Fig. 7 is a View of the finished bung.

Similar letters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout therseveral views.

The frame-work of my improved bung-cutting machine consists of a suitable table, A, or other support, upon, beneath, and in connection with which the several parts of the mechanism are arranged. i

In the machine represented in thedrawings I have found it convenient to duplicate the. cutting mechanism, so as to render it competent to produce two bungs at a time. I do not intend, however, to confine my invention to this construction, but reserve the liberty of employing a single cutter, if desired.

Three spindles, B, O, and D, are placed in a longitudinal row upon the top of the table A,

I the middle one, as 0, being in fact a double spindle and serving as a head-stock, while the other two,as B and D,serve as tail stocks. The I middle spindle, G, is'journaled in stationary bearings O G, fixed upon the table A. The end spindles, Band'D, arejournaled in suiteble bearings, B B and 'D D, respectively. The bearings B and B are carried by a horizontalbase or other equivalent or suitable connection, as also are the bearings D and D, so that said bearings for the end spindles may be movable endwise between the guides or ways B B and D D, secured upon the surface of the table. The spindles B, O, and D are held firmly within their respective bearings and are properly shaped for the application thereto of driving-belts, whereby they are actuated.

The parts that carry the end spindles, as described, are provided with stops E E, that pro ject downward past the edge of the frame and limit the inward movement of the end spindles toward the middle spindle. Suitable springs or other tensioning devices are employed to hold these parts, so that the end spindles may'normally be locatedin their innermost position,and the stops E consequently against the edge of the table. As an example of the arrangement ol'thcse tensioning devices, I have shown springs I) b,secured at one end to the guides B B, and at the other end to a cross-piece, which bears upon the stop Fraud holds the spindle D in its innermost position; also springs d d, similarly placed with respect to the spindle D'and acting to keep it in a like position. Further, the aforesaid parts or bearings that carry the end spindles are provided with projections or arms F F, that extend downward through suitable slots in the table A. By moving these projections horizontally the end spindles are caused to move outward or away from the middle spindle.

On either end of the middle spindle or headstock are fixed spurs or forks arranged around movable center points, a a, which are kept normally forced outward beyond the spurs by means of spiral springs situated within the Spindle, (see Fig. 6,) but adapted to be pushed inward, in the manner to be herein presently set forth, by the block which is to be formed into a bung. (See Fig. 5.) i G G denote the saws by means of which the proper shape is given to the bungs. Their arbors are properly journaled, so as to prevent any lateral movement of the saw, in boxes H H, and carry suitable pulleys for the application of the driving-belts. The boxes H H are secured to slides I I in such a manner as to be horizontally adjustable thereon, the adjustable connection with the slides being effected in the presentinstance by set-screws on the slides that pass through slots in the boxes, as shown in Fig. 1. The slides I I are movable in guideframes J J, which are pivoted to the table at c c, and are likewise horizontally adjustable,

-the frames being slotted to receive set-screws on the tableforaccomplishingthis adjustment. By means of this double adjustment the saws can be moved nearer to or farther away from the spindles, thus regulating the size of the bung, and they can also be swung at any angle to suit the desired taper of the bung. The slidcsI I areprovided with projectionsK K, that extend downward through slots in the guide frames J J and the table A. By moving these projections horizontally the slides and the saws above will be moved toward or away from the block which is being cut. In Fig. 6 the saw is out of its operative position away from the block. In Fig.5 it is in the act of cutting. Springs, asff,or other tensioning devices,are used to hold the parts that carry the saws in a position where the latter may not out, said springs being preferably secured to the projections K K and the frame A. (See Fig. 3.) Hence, if suitable means act upon the projections K K to move the saws forward into cutting contact with blocks to form bungs, and after such cutting is completed the means be removed, the springs will operate to return the saws into their former position.

The inner ends of the tailstocks B D are separated from the extremities of the head stock C by a short space, which is increased or diminished according as the tail-stocks are moved outward or inward. The blocks from which the bungs are formed are placed individually into these spaces and held firmly therein during the cutting operation of the saw. In order to place the blocks into this position, I arrange vertically above the spaces between the head and tail stocks open-ended spouts L L, whcreon are mounted hoppers M M, into which is fed in any suitable manner the stock or material out of which the bangs are to be made, which has previously been sawed or cut into squares of the required size. The spouts L L are perforated to allow the tail-stocks to pass through them, and at a point beneath these perforations they are provided with stops, which limit the downward movement of the blocks and support the same in the proper position until they are clamped be tween the stocks, said stops being so arranged that they will not intercept the downward passage of the complete rounded bungs when the clamping-pressure of the spindles thereon is relaxed,but permit them to fall freely from the machine.

Simple rectangular spouts willserve the purpose ofthe invention; but their most :11) proved form is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Here the spout contains parallel vertical bars or slides h h, between which the blocks drop down from the hopper. These bars are secured to disks 1' i, which are easily rotated and held in any desired position by suitable means--as a set-screw-and thus the distance between the bars is varied to suit the size of the block into which the stock has been cut. One of the bars it has its lower end formed with a projection, 7, that serves as the stop. The other bar is not as long as the first, (see Fig. 4,) and hence the square block will easily be held in the spout, while the rounded bung will slip therefrom. It becomes necessary, moreover, after one block has fallen into the position where it will be grasped between the stocks, to devise some means for staying the downward progress of the rest of the blocks within the spout-that is to say, means whereby the blocks may be deposited individually in position to be acted on by the saws. For this purpose I have provided mechanism which is operated by the endwise movement of the taihstocks, and which consists of a bent lever, j, pivoted in an arm, k, secured upon the table A, one end of said lever extending alongside of the spout and in contact with a swinging piece, Z, hinged to said spout, while the other end of the lever j is connected with the tailstock by a suitable rodconnection, m. A spring, a, secured to the table, bears against the lever j, so that its end may hold the piece I pushed inward against the blocks within the spout, as shown in Fig. 2. When the tailstocks are in their normal or innermost position, the levers j, bearing upon the swinging pieces Z, will prevent the blocks from falling out of the spout. lVhen the tail-stocks have been moved outward, the pressure upon the blocks is relaxed and one of them falls down upon the stop.

\Ve have already seen that by moving the projections F F we can slide the tail-stocks back and forth, and that by moving the projections K K we can impart the desired motion to the saw-carriages for properly positioning the saws with respect to their work.

The necessary motions are given to these several projections, and consequently to the tailstocks and the saws, by means of a horizontal cam-shaft, I, journaled in bearings beneath the table A, and having a suitable drivingpulley, P.

Upon the shaft 1? are four pairs of oppositely-situated reversely-inclined cams, which ride upon the pins projectinghorizontally from the parts F and K, the cams that actuate the parts F being so arranged on the shaft relatively to those that work the parts K that while the parts F are moving the parts K will be at rest, and vice versa.

The operation of the machine may therefore be outlined as follows: Suppose the three spindles, the two saws, and the cam-shaft to be operating under the action of their respecthe stop therein.

tive driving-belts. When the proper cams come in contact with the pins on the projections F F, both tail-stocks will be drawn back or outward simultaneously. At the same instant the pressure of leverj upon the blocks in the spouts will be released and a block will fall to the bottom of each spout and rest upon Assoon as the cams have ceased to act upon projections F F, the springconnections will force the tail-stocks back into their former position, likewise returning the pressure to the blocks in the spout, and by this latter movement of the tail stocks their inner extremities strike forcibly against the blocks that rest upon the stops and drive them out of the spout against the spurs and movable centers (which latter are forced inward) upon the ends of the headstock and hold them firmly in this position, a rotary motion being at once imparted to the blocks as soon as this clamping is effected.

It will be noted that the end-thrust upon one end of the headstock will compensate and counterbalance the end-thrust upon the other end, so. that the headstock will be in equilibrium, and friction and wear upon the bearings avoided. By this time the cam-shaft P has rotated sufficiently far to allowthe proper cams to come into play upon the projections K K, and the saws begin to move toward and against the rapidly-revolving blocks, cutting off the corners, rounding the blocks, and fashioning them of the proper size and with the requisite taper. .These last-mentioned cams cease to act upon the projections as soon as the saw has finished cutting, and hence the.

springs already described are at liberty to replace the saws in their former position. Further,by the time the saw has stopped cutting the others of the proper pairs of cams for doing this work have begun to cause the tail-spin dies to be again moved outward, as before. This movement unelamps the completed bung, and the pressure upon the spring-actuated movable points a a being withdrawn the latter are driven out, thereby throwing the bungs off the spurs back into the spout, and permitting them to fall from the machine into any convenient receptacle, since the stops now afford no opposition to such a movement of the bungs. At the same time blocks pass from the spout into position upon thestops, and the operation of the machine proceeds, in the manner already set forth. The bungs thus formed are smooth and need no further finishing. It is evident, moreover, that, if so desired, the tail-spindles may not be driven by means of belts, as above described; but said belts may be dispensed with and the spindles provided with centers that will revolve when the bung-block comes in contact with the headstock. 7

, Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine for making bungs, the combination,with suitable cutting mechanism and its operating devices, ofa head-stock having a movable center and spurs about the same, an endwise movable tail-stock, and a feedspont for directing the bung-blocks between the head and tail stocks, having near its bottom end a stop so arranged as to prevent the bung-blocks, but not the completed hung, from falling out, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for making bungs, the combination of a double headstock having mova ble centers, the endwise-movable tail-stocks, the feed-spouts having stops near the bottom, suitable mechanism operated by the tail stocks to prevent the blocks in said spout from falling while one is being cut, the horizontallymovable saw-carrying frames with their saws, and the cam-shaft arranged and designed, in connection withprojections on the saw-carrying parts and the tailspindles, to move said parts in the desired manner, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the slotted table, the

headstock journaled in stationary bearings thereon, the tail-stocks journaled in movable bearings, the spouts for directing the bungblocks into position and having stops near the bottom, suitable devices, as shown, operated by the tail-stocks to prevent the blocks in said spout from falling while one is being cut, the horizontally-movablesaw-carryingframes with their saws, the cam-shaft for causing said tailstocks and saw-carrying frames to be moved in one direction, and the springs or equivalent tensioning devices for returning said parts in the opposite direction, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a supporting-frame, the double head-stock having movable centers,the endwisemovable tail-stocks, thehorizontally-movable saw -carrying frames with their saws, a cam shaft arranged in connection with projections on said tail-stocks and saw-carrying frames to move the same in one direction, suitable tensioning devices for moving them in the opposite direction, the feedspouts for directing the bung'blocks into position between the head and tail stocks and having stops near the bottom end, which prevent the exit therefrom of a block, but not of a completed bung, and the mechanism for pre venting the blocks in said spout from falling while one is being cut, consisting of a bent lever pivoted to a support on the frame, the lower end of said lever being suitably connected with the tail-stock, while the otherend bears against a hinged piece in the spout, all substantially as and for the purposes specified.

5. In a machine for making bungs, the combination, with a head-stock and movable tailstock, of a feedspout for directing the bungblocks between said stocks, having a stop near the bottom end and a hinged piece a short distance above, and mechanism, consisting of a bent lever pivoted to a support, the lower end of said lever being connected with the tailstock, while the upper end bears against the swinging piece to prevent the blocks in the spout from falling while one is being cut, all arranged to operate snbstantially as described.

6. The combination, with the head-stock and movable tail-stock, of an adjustable feedspout for directing the bung blocks between said stocks, said spouts having parallel vertical guides pivoted to disks, which render said rods adjustable with respect to each other to suit the size of block thatthey are to conduct, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the headstock and tail-stock, ofa feed-spout for directing the bung-blocks between said stocks, said spout carrying ahopper, M,and having parallel vertical guides h h, adjustable with respect to each other, one being formed with a stop, 5 substantially as described.

8. The combination of the slotted table A,

the head stock 0, having, movable centers a a, the endwise-movable tail-stocks B and D, 20

shaft Roperating as specified, the feed spouts 25 L L,having hoppers M M. and the tensioning devices for the tail-stocks and the saw-carrying slides, all arranged substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in 30 presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD E. ELDER.

Witnesses:

J OHN E. Monsn, WINTHROP A; HILTON. 

